The first “birthed” in the john.—-We looked for something with which
to fish it (him?) out – hospital’s orders.Human, they said, and stuck me in a hallway—-to bleed alone for half a day.

The second time, my mother visited,—–but was uncomfortable with such despair,———could not gather herself
fully into a chair.—-I sent her away
she thanked me.

The third time I adopted the basement——for weeks, avoiding light, sound, solace.
I had to alone with ….my son?——-He was the best of company,
both of us leaving, leaving.

My dead sons are three.—–Sometimes I ponder them shrimp-like,——pulsing, suddenly still.
But mostly, I think of them as trees,—–no longer seed, but thick with trunk.
Leaves unfurl: hands, roots, their feet,—–their maturings secret as concentric rings.

I know my boys best when branches—-bend in the breeze –
not wholly here, not wholly there,—-but their tiny issue in the cosmos,
somewhere –—in the air, on the air, against the air.

“Against the Air” was written after 3 miscarriages in five years. I had always been haunted as to the gender of the babies I had lost; years later, my husband informed me they must have all been boys. I had a chronic illness, and had had to choose between career and family. I chose family, but building it was not so easy. He felt that females would have survived, despite my body’s dysfunction.

Check It Out!

Submissions and Sales!

August is our final month for open submissions, and to celebrate, all of our anthologies are 25% off! Check em out! 🙂

Want to be Interviewed?

We’re still scheduling guests for our monthly podcast series, Cover to Cover with . . ., so if you’d like to appear on an episode to promote your work and shoot the breeze, contact us at info@thebookendsreview.com!

Give and Receive!

We still have leftover stock from AWP, so if you hit the support us! button below and donate $20 or more, you’ll receive a free 2014, 2015, or 2016 print anthology (your choice, obviously) and a free magnet!! What are you waiting for?